The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the Nigeria Police Force has invited Mr. Obeten Okoi, a former lawyer to international fraudster Jesam Michael, for interrogation.
Jesam is currently remanded in prison for defrauding Nigerians of billions of naira.
SaharaReporters gathered on Friday that the police invitation was issued at the instance and instructions of Jesam, who is being held at the Kuje Custodial Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS).
In a letter of invitation dated September 4, obtained by SaharaReporters and signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Victor O. Godfrey on behalf of the Commander, Scorpion Squad (D5), State CID, Abuja, the police stated that it is investigating “a case of Criminal Breach of Trust, Cheating, Intimidation and Forgery, in which your name featured prominently.”
The letter with Ref. No: AR: 3000/FCT/X/DS/VOL.1/86/329, partly read: “This is office is investigating a case of Criminal Breach of Trust, Cheating, Intimidation and Forgery, in which your name featured prominently.
“In view of the above, you are kindly requested to interview the undersigned through Assistant Commissioner of Police, Scorpion Squad (D5) CID, FCT Police Command, Abuja on Wednesday, 17th September, 2025 at about 10:00hrs. On arrival, call this number: 0803225****.”
Jesam Wielding Influence from Prison
SaharaReporters reported on September 2 that Jesam, the CEO of cryptocurrency trading platform Afriq Arbitrage System (AAS), had been wielding power from the prison facility where he is being held.
Jesam has reportedly been using his connections with high-ranking officials in the Nigeria Police Force and Department of State Services (DSS) to further his interests.
According to leaked audio calls, Jesam boasted about paying N250,000 to allegedly bribe the police to detain his former lawyer, Obeten Okoi, accused of faking documents in a N68 million property purchase agreement.
Okoi has vehemently denied the allegations, and Jesam’s brother, Donatuse Akpanna, corroborated his position in an interview with SaharaReporters, stating that while Jesam had already taken possession of the disputed landed properties, the documents remained with him.
SaharaReporters further learnt that Jesam’s real grievance with his former lawyer, who is also his kinsman, stemmed from a suspicion that Okoi leaked information about his fraudulent dealings, which ultimately led to his arrest and ongoing prosecution.
EFCC’s Fraud Case Against Jesam
Jesam was arraigned on June 10, 2025, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a seven-count charge bordering on fraud and operating specialised financial services without a valid licence.
Justice Egwuatu denied him bail and ordered his remand at the Correctional Centre.
Jesam is accused of defrauding Nigerians of about $844,416.36, $10,000, and N590 million through cryptocurrency schemes. The presiding judge observed that no fewer than 50,000 victims were affected by the fraudulent investment platform and stressed the need for a speedy trial while keeping the suspect in custody.
According to the EFCC, between September 2022 and June 2023, Jesam and his company, Afriq Arbitrage System Limited, while not being a licensed bank or authorised financial institution, lured members of the public through advertisements to deposit funds. This, the Commission stated, contravened Section 44(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, which prescribes penalties under the same law.
Lawyer Alleges Harassment and Police Complicity
Speaking with SaharaReporters, Okoi, who currently serves as Head of the Legal Unit at the Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, Cross River State, accused Jesam of manipulating compromised police officers within the FCT Command to harass, intimidate, and humiliate him.
He cited a text message reportedly sent by a police inspector who identified herself as Ruth Abraham.
According to him, accompanying the police invitation letter that Ruth Abraham sent to his WhatsApp number, she wrote: “This is your official letter of invitation, as you said you don’t want Embarrassment, that’s the date you are to report to our office, address is there, for ur good…. Don’t say we didn’t warn u…. Come and answer to ur petition….. I hope you where told everything I don’t need to explain… But know this u can’t hide for ever.”
Okoi described the text message as a “manifest bias” coming from a police officer who hasn’t heard from an accused in a supposed case she and her team are investigating.
He called on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the FCT Commissioner of Police to transfer the case to a neutral unit for an unbiased investigation.
He alleged that Jesam used the same FCT Scorpion Unit to have his elder sister detained for over a month.
Dispute Over Landed Properties
Countering the allegations against him, Okoi said: “My soliciting activities with Jesam Michael started when the immediate younger brother of Donatus Okoi and a director in the company who is my paternal family member approached me that our brother wanted to buy properties, and that I should help investigate the title and prepare the deed of assignment.
“Because he’s my kinsman, I didn’t charge him; he uses his discretion to give me stipends, which I don’t complain about. We bought properties in Abuja, Lagos, Calabar, Port-Harcourt, Ugep, among others, and he (Jesam) pays monies directly to the vendor’s account.”
Okoi said sometime in April 2023, “his younger brother called me that Jesam was in trouble. He arranged a meeting with Jesam, and he briefed me on how Abayomi made away with his online trading platform company’s funds.
“He explained that he had petitioned Interpol Nigeria. Abayomi was arrested by Interpol – Insp. John Arikpo, precisely, then-Investigating Police Officer (IPO) of the matter. Interpol started investigating the matter and was able to recover the sum of $3 million, which Abayomi voluntarily transferred to Jesam Michael’s wallet account. Jesam Michael, not being satisfied with the mode of investigation, appealed to the Inspector General of Police that the matter be transferred to another unit of the IGP.
“The IGP, in consideration of the appeal, transferred the matter to the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the IGP, wherein landed properties, houses, cars, gold, bank accounts, etc. were further recovered. In the forfeiture agreement, I personally signed as a witness to Jesam.”
According to him, properties worth N7 billion were handed over to Jesam Michael.
He said, “In December 2023, we wrapped up the recovery process, and because he’s my kinsman, he never paid any percentage to me as a lawyer; he pleaded that it was investors’ money.
“I further advised that a general meeting be called for investors to be briefed and updated on the recovery process, but he never took the advice. He introduced a new project called Token, promising to make me a future millionaire, as it will serve as the fuel tank for the trading platform.
“Meanwhile, because of the sensitive nature of the matter, I personally supervised the whole recovery process, always moving from Lagos to Abuja. I also involved two of my colleagues, and they also briefed Agabi’s Chambers, which is currently on a yearly retainership with him.”
Due to the hardship they endured, some investors petitioned him for the recovery of their funds. In most cases, I would go to the police and mediate, and in most cases, make offers and draft terms of settlement for both parties,” he explained.
On the land issue, alleged forgery of documents, and breach of trust, the lawyer denied any involvement.
He said, “The land in question was bought by the younger brother. I only investigated the title and drafted the agreement. When we later discovered that the number of plots measured 72 instead of the total number of 96 plots, the younger brother who procured the property for him owned up and went and bought 17 plots from his own pocket to replace them.
“Jesam is currently in possession of this landed property, and different types of farming activities are currently going on those lands. After the above transaction, he stopped relating to me, saying he had heard too many complaints, which I know was a tactic to use and dump.”
“While I was with Jesam, I have intervened in so many cases of investors who were victims, including police officers, who were lured to invest in the business scam. I later intervened even when he was no longer talking to me, and their money was refunded. I never betrayed Jesam Michael nor did I release any documents to the police; he still enjoys legal professional privilege of information with me,” he maintained.
He added, “The current petitions by him against me are all baseless and tainted with malice to defame me, because he felt that I sold him out. Meanwhile, it’s Abayomi who petitioned him based on the recovery we made from him.
“I want the IGP, the EFCC Chairman, the Controller General of the correctional services in Nigeria to know that Jesam is operating from prison custody. The recently leaked audio showed he bribed the OC legal state CID Cross River command with N250,000 to unlawfully detain me.
“First, he asked one of his staff by the name Klem Okoi to maliciously petition a case of threat to life against me. The matter has been investigated, and the complainant has refused to show up for a commissioner of police interview. It is evident that he provided false information to the police.
“Currently, he is using the men of the State CID Abuja command, Scorpion Squad, to arrest me. What surprises me is why the police allowed themselves to be used by a man who’s currently being prosecuted and in prison custody for fraud, after defrauding thousands of Nigerians and Americans of their life savings.
“The same police command that detained his elder sister for almost a month. Jesam Michael feels I know so much, and he has sworn to do everything humanly possible to get me. I have done nothing to him; the only offence I have always committed is advising him to explore alternative options and pay investors, even if it’s only half of their total investment.
“He pushed me out of his system and involved other lawyers who do not know how I manage the cases of petitions against him, hence the arrest. As I write now, my life is seriously threatened and I want the IGP to move the above matter from the Abuja state CID command, Scorpion Squad to a neutral unit where justice can be done.”
How Michael Carried Out Similar Scam In US
SaharaReporters learned that Michael similarly withdrew funds from a US-based cryptocurrency platform before it was shut down.
In May 2022, the firm ceased honoring investor withdrawal requests, citing technical issues. Shortly thereafter, the platform stopped operating its website.
Exclusive documents obtained by SaharaReporters revealed that the State of California ordered a shutdown of Jesam’s cryptocurrency firm, Cryptos OTC Trading Platform Limited, in 2022 for violating sections 25110 and 25401 of the state’s Corporations Code.
The State of California described the platform as a scam, comparing it to a Ponzi scheme.
The order issued by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation (Commissioner), Clothilde V. Hewlett, was signed by the Deputy Commissioner Enforcement Division, Mary Ann Smith.
The Commissioner stated, “On or around May 13, 2022, COTP stopped honoring investor withdrawal requests, claiming that COTP was experiencing technical issues and that COTP would resolve the issues in a matter of days.
“COTP’s promises to resolve the purported withdrawal issues were false and COTP continued to prevent investors from withdrawing funds.
“On or around May 23, 2022, COTP represented to investors that its website had been hacked and that investors would be unable to access their funds for an additional three to five weeks.
“Within the following days, COTP stopped operating its website, leaving investors unable to access or withdraw their funds.
“To date, investors have not received their principal investments or their promised returns. COTP has ceased communicating with investors.
“The Investments offered by COTP were securities that were neither qualified nor exempt from the qualification requirement under the CSL.
“The Department has not issued a permit or other form of qualification authorizing COTP to sell these securities in California.”
The Commissioner threatened, “In connection with the offer or sale of these securities, COTP made material omissions to potential investors, including but not limited to the following:
“Failing to disclose that the offer or sale of its Investments was not qualified in California;
“Failing to disclose the identities of the individuals operating and/or managing COTP; and
“Failing to disclose that it used investor funds to pay purported profits to other investors, in the manner of a Ponzi scheme.”